Precipice
by Mumuoni
Summary: *Post war AU* Sasuke again experiences a traumatic event that leaves him teetering on the edge. Revenge has always called for him, but he has long left that path behind... [warning: contains disturbing content]
1. chapter 1

The cold stone walls seemed to press in on themselves in the dim room. Sasuke released his tight grip on the enemy-nin's neck, and the man slid to the floor in a crumpled heap.

He didn't move from the doorway. Upon entering, his eyes quickly made a sweep of the room before landing on her. She was naked, but it wasn't her nakedness that kept his gaze. It was her profound brokenness. Her eye was swollen shut and part of her ear missing, and the telltale signs that promised broken bones were visible everywhere.

She was hanging limply, her hands bound together and her body held up by chains that were wrapped around her fragile arms. The restraints cut into her wrists and her fingers had turned purple from the lack of circulation.

Blackening bruises marred her porcelain flesh, and blood wept freely from her many angry lacerations. It dripped from her mouth, her nose, and the delicate flesh that covered her chest, stomach, and thighs. Fingernails were gone, replaced with bloody pits, and the sick bastards hadn't stopped there. There were angry burns on her flesh. Brands.

He choked back a wave of panic induced nausea. He knew the smell of torture. The sick stench of rancid flesh. Sharp copper twinges and stomach acid. He had seen worse than this. He had done worse than this, but never to someone like her.

She was so innocent. So sweet and pure. So incredibly beautiful and inspiring and strong. And look at her now, strung up and bare, like an animal for slaughter.

Still Sasuke stared in disbelief, in denial. His dark eyes roamed over the woman's body in dumbfounded silence, hovering over every last mark on her figure. Staggering forward with dread as he neared the broken woman. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.

Why is she here..?

The confusion that was undeniably reflected in his onyx orbs soaked up her face. It was so wrong. Bones were broken, that much was obvious. The swelling assuring him of that.

He felt numb. Dazed. Disbelief. He felt the same horror and confusion that he felt the day of his clan's massacre attempt to swallow him.

Sasuke felt like a forcefield was keeping him from advancing further, but he knew there was no such thing. It was his mind. A step closer would confirm his fears. A step closer and this was all real. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sasuke registered Kakashi's voice through his headset. He could hear sharp concern when there was no reply, and he ripped his radio out of his ears to quiet the worried yammering.

No. No. No. You aren't supposed to be here..!

The Uchiha finally regained himself, cracking out of the shocked stone he had become, and rushed towards the mutilated woman.

One of his hands fluttered an inch from her face, apprehension stalling him for a split second before he closed the distance, and the other circled around her waist in an attempt to alleviate the weight on her wrists. He didn't care that he was getting blood all over himself. He pulled her face towards him frantically to inspect the damage up close, and her head lolled back.

Sasuke's unsteady fingers were slick with her blood as he searched for a pulse. After a few more moments of contained panic, a weak pulse began to resonate with him. His knees almost buckled as the relief flooded him. She was alive; Face still warm, and her breathing was faint but enduring.

He pressed his forehead into the crevice of her neck as he let out a shaky breath, and relinquished his hold on her face to reach back and unsheathe his katana. Doing his best to keep her in his grasp, he angled the tip of his blade to pierce the chain. She dropped into his arms and her head rolled back heavily. He sunk down to his knees and set his katana aside, holding the woman as gingerly as he could.

The rest of his team was sweeping the remainder of the complex, and Sasuke knew they would be done anytime. The few guards they had run into thus far had been no problem. Sasuke had finished them without a single drop of blood tainting him.

Sasuke glanced down and registered that she was still completely bare. He angled her to his chest as he struggled to unclasp his cloak. Her breathing was starting to pick up, haggard. Sasuke finally managed to shrug his cloak off and wrap it around her damaged body. To conceal her nakedness. To protect her vulnerabilities from any more cruelty.

He could sense that her consciousness was rising to the surface. Her shoulders were beginning to shake and he could see tremors travel down her raw limbs. Soft whimpers of pain escaped her lips as more bloody saliva trailed down her chin. He couldn't suppress the shaking in his hands as he brushed bloody hair out of her face.

"Hinata. Shushhh, you are going to be okay now. It's over. It's all over now," he murmured soothingly as he brought his hand up again to brush across her cheek and down her jaw bone.

He could hear the echoes of footsteps getting closer through the moans and ragged dragging breaths. He could feel as her body racked with sobs and he struggled to fight back his own.

"Sa- su..ke..?" She bit her lip through the sob. Her eyes too swollen to utilize. Her hand twitching at her side.

Agony.

That's what all this was.

Sasuke made a point of readjusting her more securely in his arms, and flinched as more pain crossed her features, "That's right, I'm right here. Right here." His lips ghosted over her cheeks, her nose, eyes, lips, trying to be as gentle as he could. The whirlwind of emotions was suffocating. He bit back all of his questions; All of the anger that had been shoved to the side, all of the panic. She needed reassurance right now, Not a hot mess.

"Thank god." She choked out before her body went limp again.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi's eye trailed past the Uchiha's back, noticing the swirls of black hair and the bare, bloody, beaten skin of a woman's leg. Then it wandered down to the cloak that covered her body, with concern, and then to Sasuke's other hand that had a forcibly gentle grip on hers. "Is she alive?"

"I need the medic here now, Kakashi," Sasuke demanded before he glanced over his shoulder at the older jounin who remained lingering in the doorway. His eyes swirled crimson as anger began to eat through his restraint.

"Understood." Kakashi said as he turned to his shoulder and spoke into his earpiece urgently before returning his attention to the man crouched on the floor.

"She shouldn't be here." The Uchiha ground out through clenched teeth.

Kakashi could feel his stomach sink in dread. "Sasuke-" he took a few steps closer, hesitant to word his suspicions. "Is that...?"

Pain clenched all through the Uchiha's torso. "It's my wife."

Kakashi stepped into eyesight of Hinata's face and had to fight the urge to turn away from the disfigured woman that was normally so beautiful.

Sasuke's expression hardened as Kakashi's hand reached to check for a pulse, and his hand flashed out to grab the copy-nin's wrist. "Please, don't." Kakashi nodded in understanding and Sasuke released the death grip on his wrist.

The copy-nin was about to say something but was cut off when Sakura reached the room, breathless.

She sucked in a horrified gasp. "Oh, my god." Her hands clenched over her face for a split second as she processed what she was witnessing.

Kakashi took the moment to move back towards the door as Sakura rushed to Hinata's side, immediately setting to work. Her hands glowed green as she pooled chakra to them.

"Lay her down, Sasuke. As straight as you can- good! But keep her head elevated." She barked out swift orders. She began to open the cloak and sucked in another horrified gasp as her eyes soaked up every grotesque detail. Kakashi averted his face from the doorway. He hadn't expected her to be completely naked. Nor had he anticipated the severity of her mutilations. His face scrunched up in a combination of sadness, anger, and nausea. His jaw set rigidly, and all he could think was that she was the last person to ever deserve something so horrid.

Sasuke was barely containing all of the emotions that were flooding his senses. Hatred, rage, heartbreak, agony, mourning, denial, disgust.

He was able to hold on to his grasp of sanity, only by watching her face. He didn't allow his eyes to trail down and watch Sakura perform emergency medical procedures to his beautiful, broken wife's body. His eyes were intent on looking for any signs of discomfort on Hinata's unconscious face.

Sakura pulled out some water and a cloth and handed them to Sasuke.

"Wipe some of the blood off of her face, i need to see her coloration better." She said gently, her eyes flicking up to his expression for a split second before returning to her work.

Sasuke nodded and dampened the cloth, bringing it to Hinata's face. He wiped methodically, slow and gentle, trying to calm his growing inferno of emotions.

Naruto was the last to arrive on the scene, his expression dark. "What's happening?" He inquired as he made to step into the room. Kakashi stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "Sensei..? What's going on?"

Kakashi's pained expression brought dread. Naruto's pitch dropped, "What's happened?"

Kakashi looked away and his eye squeezed shut. "Don't go in yet. She deserves some privacy. Sakura's tending to her."

Naruto squinted into the dim room. She..? His eyes adjusted to see his two teammates hunched over someone. Sasuke...?

Sasuke kept wiping her face clean, watching aptly for any expression change as Sakura's hands expertly maneuvered his wife's torso. Hinata's eyebrows knit together in pain and her eyes opened a sliver to focus on his face.

Sasuke's eyes softened when they met, and he murmured out a soft, "it's okay now, Hinata," before hers closed again.

Sakura concentrated, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. She worked to mend every crack, break, and tear she could find. Stopping any blood flow was key at this point. Any more and the woman could suffer permanent damage. Once satisfied with the quick mends, she glanced up to Hinata's face, and Sasuke's intent gaze. He was struggling to keep himself composed.

"I need to check her head." Sakura spoke softly, eyeing the Uchiha worriedly.

Sasuke gave a small nod without letting his hard eyes leave the broken face they were glued to. Sakura glanced back at Hinata's bare body and pulled the cloak back to cover her. Then she scooted herself closer to her head.

Channelling chakra back to her fingertips, Sakura tenderly began to evaluate the extent of damage. She struggled to keep her expression from getting too morbid, though Sasuke wouldn't have noticed anyways.

Hinata's brain was swollen. But not dangerously so, Yet. She urged the chakra to soothe the delicate organ, then moved to examine the skull. Fractures were clustered by Hinata's right eye, webbing up into her forehead and down her cheekbone.

Her nose was broken as well, and Sakura wasted no time setting it and healing it. Then she focussed back on the fractures. Her eyes were miraculously undamaged, but nothing was certain yet.

Sasuke looked down at the woman, that was supposed to be at home, and felt so guilty. He looked down at his woman that he was unable to protect, even though he was supposed to be better than everyone else. He looked down at his wife, who had been tortured and mutilated, and he felt so powerless.

"She didn't lose any teeth." Sakura murmured, trying to be reassuring. "She's out of any immediate danger and is almost ready to be moved."

Sasuke let out a shaky breath that Sakura hadn't realized he had been holding, his dark bangs obscuring his face from her view.

"I have a teleportation scroll, I'm going to go update Kakashi and then we will go." She stood up shakily and made her way towards her old sensei and Naruto.

"Kakashi, I have her stable for now, but she needs immediate care. I'm going to teleport us back. You and Naruto should be fine on the return trip without me."

Kakashi and her met eyes for a moment, before he nodded. "Good. That's good. Naruto and I will finish up here and follow. Go now."

Sakura nodded, and Naruto watched the exchange silently, still confused about what exactly was happening.

Sasuke allowed some of his immediate anger to recede as he dropped his face to brush against Hinata's.

Sakura was back next to them the next moment, pulling out a scroll, the next second they were in the emergency bay of Konoha's hospital.

Two nurses ran to receive them, eyeing the Uchiha wearily.

"I need an operating room prepped. Notify Tsunade that I have Hinata in critical. And find me three more nurses. We operate ASAP." She turned to Sasuke before continuing, "Sasuke, I'm sorry, but you need to wait out here." Her eyes pleaded with him as she waited for him to relinquish the firm grasp he had on his wife.

Rage flashed through his crimson eyes for a split second, but he glanced at Hinata and the anger ebbed away. He took a deep breath and passed her over. "Take care of her," he spoke firmly, his hand dropping to brush hair from her eyes before he turned around and walked out of the hospital.

His first stop was the hokage tower. He needed answers. He jumped swiftly from rooftop to rooftop. Ignoring the chill in the air that bit into his bare arms. He made it to his destination in no time at all, and didn't bother to walk in the door, instead opting to use the window that Kakashi always entered through.

"Sasuke. I was just notified of your arrival, and the news," the Hokage spat. Her face sharp with anger. Anger that very much mirrored his own.

"Why the hell was she there, Tsunade? She's off of active duty while I'm away," he managed to grind out, his anger flowing out in waves. "Why was she in the field, and why the hell didn't you notify me?"

Tsunade turned her hard expression away from him and rummaged angrily for a bottle of sake. "It was an emergency. She was the best sensory ninja I had in the village, and duty called. I don't suppose you found the rest of her team? It was hastily set up, so unfortunately they weren't anywhere near her normal team's standards. They went dark the day before yesterday."

Sasuke was barely managing to hold onto any self restraint. "How the fuck could you not tell me."

"I needed you to remain focussed. You know that."

"She's my wife!!" Sasuke roared. "Fuck."

Tsunade's hand ran through her hair, "You think I don't know?? I adore that girl."

She eyed the Uchiha as he paced the room. Her eyes lingering on the blood that was smeared all over him.

"I will make sure she has the best care possible. She will recover from this. I swear it."

Sasuke shot a unconcealed glare at her full force. "You better be right. I will never forgive you otherwise. Even considering it makes me sick... Fuck, I need to go home."

"Change first. You're covered in blood. Take one of the shirts downstairs."

Sasuke scoffed but walked out of the room anyways.

Tsunade chucked her bottle of sake against the wall after the door swung shut."Shit!" Glass shards bounced back at her, but she ignored them. "Shit. Goddamnit. Fuck!" She cursed before sinking back into her chair.

She was fucked. There was no time to regret what had happened, she needed to amend as much as she could. She pulled on her doctor's coat and yelled at Shizune that she was going out.

Sasuke jumped over the rooftops again, sporting a fresh shirt. His feelings swirling unsettled all around him. He tried to focus on shelving them away inside as he neared his home. He landed right outside and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

"Hinata?" A voice called from the other room. An annoying voice. Ino.

Sasuke didn't grace her with an answer and instead walked straight past the room she was in.

"Oh! Sasuke. Iroha is asleep in his room. I wasn't expecting you to show up..." Her voice trailed off as she took notice of the dried blood still on his arms and pants. "Oh my god. Is someone hurt? Are you hurt??"

"You should go home, Ino. Naruto will be back in the next day or so..." His eyebrows drew closer together in a grimace. "Hinata is in the hospital"

All the color left her face, "Oh god. Is it serious? Oh god, it is." Ino stood up suddenly and started for the door. "I'm going in. I wanna see if I can help, I'll see you there."

The door closed and Sasuke felt his legs threaten to fail him. He shook his head. Flashes of Hinata's wounds still alive and vivid under His eyelids. Not yet.

Sasuke pushed through his bedroom door and went directly to the shower. Ripping off all of his clothes as quickly as possible. He scrubbed like his life depended on it and forced himself to keep moving. Dry hair. Get dressed. Simple things turned agonizing.

Double checking to Make sure he got all of his wife's blood off of him, he focused on his next destination.

Quietly making his way into the room, he took his time to observe every detail on his sleeping son's face.

He was beautiful. The pale skin in contrast with the black of his hair. Iroha. He had thick black eyelashes and a relaxed set to his face. A small white scar on his cheek was the only thing that looked out of place. He looked just like her. Everyone else always commented on how much he looked like Sasuke, but he disagreed. Iroha had a softness to him that screamed Hinata, this was something he was grateful for.

His hand reached out to brush some strands of hair out of his son's face. When Iroha didn't stir, he leaned down and scooped him up. Sasuke stood there for a few minutes, embracing his sleeping son. Calming himself and setting his resolve.

He stood there for a while, realizing he didn't want to put Iroha down anytime soon. It had been two weeks since he was able to hold him and sasuke could feel every change that had taken place during his absence.

"Mmmh." Iroha began to stir in his arms, causing sasuke's grip to tighten. "...tou-san?" Came a small, sweet, sleep-filled voice.

"Iro.." Sasuke began, not knowing what to say.

Iroha sat up and brought his dark eyes to meet his father's,"Tou-san, you look sad."

Forever inquisitive. The child could always see through him. "Okaa-san is in the hospital for a while. Rest. We are going to have a long night."

Waiting was the hardest part. The apprehension that kept bringing forth every possible scenario of what could go wrong, was plaguing him. It had been five hours. Five. No one had come out of the operating room, instead, two other doctors had gone in.

Sasuke had been pacing ever since he returned to the hospital. He was too restless to sit down even though he was bordering on exhaustion from his mission.

He was thankful his son wasn't there to see him so discomposed. He couldn't bring himself to drag the boy along to wait in torturous uncertainty for god knows how long. Instead he had conjured up a kage bunshin to get Kiba.

Iroha loved his uncle, and he was always spoiling the boy. Kiba arrived in record timing looking quite alarmed, but after the situation was explained he all but shoved Sasuke out the door.

And here he was, still anxiously waiting to hear how his wife was faring. The door opened, snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts, and an exhausted Tsunade stood there, motioning for him to follow her.

So he did.

Tsunade walked into an empty room, and he followed, sliding the door shut behind them. She didn't turn to face him at first, instead focussing on the first light of the sunrise.

"She's going to be okay, Sasuke. We will have a full report in a few hours that I suggest you take a look at. And I also have a few treatment plans we can look at after she wakes up."

Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief, but also found his anger rising again. "I would like to see her."

Tsunade turned and looked him dead in the eye. He could see all of the emotions that he was experiencing reflected there. Exhaustion, anger, guilt, profound sadness, pain. "I will allow that immediately. Sakura and the nurses are moving her to a room, and I will not sugarcoat reality when I say that she may look better on the outside, but the horrors of what she experienced will never leave her. Sasuke, now more than ever, she will need your patience and support.

"I've done nothing but support her." Sasuke snapped, "that sure as hell won't change now. And I am expecting your full cooperation as well, Tsunade. This is on you."

Tsunade nodded solemnly, "I will do everything in my power to get her the best care. You have my word."

Sasuke let out a little 'che' and turned towards the door, "I'm going to go see my wife."

Tsunade sighed and nodded, "Oh, and Sasuke, don't bring Iroha to see her until after she gets her mental evaluation. Actually, give it a few days before you bring him in. He doesn't need to see her in that state."

Sasuke shot her an icy glare, "I will take that into consideration. Notify me as soon as your report is available." With that, Sasuke left the room and headed towards his wife's faint chakra signature, apprehensive again at what he would find.

 **Author note** :

Hey! Mumu again. chapter one is done! This story was born from a great desire to read something like it. I know it's a bit of a downer, but I like to torture the characters I write ;_; normally only in the emotional sense, but in this it became quite literal. Sasuke is hard to write, having to keep in mind that he is older and a father now, and wants to be better for his family, while still being full of angst and anger, has been difficult. In the actual universe he tried to atone for his wrongdoings by traveling, but that is a shit father and husband thing to do, and I think I've always been a bit bitter about that. So, instead I tried to put him in the role of actually being a caring father and husband, and working to atone for his wrongdoings by holding himself to a higher standard. The balance for his character will be tricky, but we shall see how it develops.

On a side note, I have never been a Sakura x Sasuke fan, so maybe that is another reason why that relationship bothered me. It lacked a certain spark between the characters. There was never any growth in the relationship. The series began with Sasuke ignoring Sakura for years, and ended the same way. I have always found that Sasuke and Hinata compliment each other beautifully. The contrasting of their characters makes a much more enjoyable couple to develop. Anyways, rant over.

My apologies for the possible strange formatting as well, trying to post on the app. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I have no idea what I'm doing. xD

Feel free to leave a review~


	2. No2

Hinata's eyes remained closed. As they would for the rest of the night. Sasuke sat next to her bed, restless.

The doctors put her in an induced coma, with reassurances that the swelling in her brain would be better by the next day.

He should have felt relieved, but he didn't. He probably wouldn't until after she woke up. He longed to hear her voice.

She was hooked up to life support for the duration of her coma, and an iv snaked it's way up from her arm.

Sasuke moved to gingerly take her bandaged hand into his, trying to put his mind at ease. The bandages were wrapped halfway down each finger to the tips. She wouldn't have nails for a while. She was healing, but nails were a different story. Some of them may never grow back.

Hinata was going to hate it. She loved doing things with her hands. She loved to garden, make crafts with Iroha, cook. She loved to braid her hair and spar. Touch was something she treasured, and now it was going to bring her pain for many months. Sasuke massaged her palm, grateful that she wasn't missing any of her toenails.

His eyes travelled up to her face again. A bandage covered her left temple, and some bruising colored her face in patches. She looked pale still, but so much better than before. He brought her hand to rest against his face. It was cold.

There was a soft knock on the door, and it slid open. Sasuke thought he was too exhausted for his mood to worsen, but he was mistaken. His father-in-law stood in the doorway. His head was held high, all emotions carefully tucked away, leaving an irritating look of complete control. They made eye contact, and even through the mask Sasuke could see disdain mirrored back at him.

They didn't get along.

They never had. Not even in the beginning. Hyūga Hiashi was not an easy man to be around. Nor was Sasuke, for that matter, but that was beside the point.

Hiashi only allowed them to get married because it was convenient. He killed multiple birds with one stone. Hinata was no longer the Hyūga heir, for one, opening the position for him to choose while ridding himself of a weak link. He also forged a strong familial tie with a clan that had rivaled his for generations. His blood would flow directly through every single future Uchiha.

Sasuke couldn't stand his attitude. It was obvious that Hiashi hated him, but he still gave his daughter to a man he hated because it was profitable.

Sasuke didn't let go of Hinata's hand as the Hyūga patriarch walked into the room. Hiashi's intense gaze matched his for a few more seconds in tense silence, before the older man broke eye contact to look over at Hinata.

"How is she?"

Sasuke's eyes lowered back to his wife.

"Alive."

Hiashi nodded, returning the room back to a thick silence. There was a branch member standing awkwardly in the doorway, waiting patiently.

"I brought some flowers. Kō wanted to deliver them personally." Hiashi gestured for Kō to do what he came for.

Kō bowed deeply, vase still in his hands before he walked in to place it across from her bed.

"I was deeply worried for Hinata-sama. Though I must say she is looking better than I dared to hope. If there is anything you find yourself in need of assistance with, I would place myself in your service, Uchiha-sama." Kō bowed again.

Sasuke nodded in thanks. Kō was one of the few Hyūga that he could stand. He was a kind and dignified man, and Sasuke had never found a reason to dislike him.

Hiashi's eyes lingered on his daughter and he cleared his throat, "Iroha always has a place with the Hyūga. He is my first grandchild after all."

"The offer is appreciated, but unnecessary. Kiba is with him now."

Hiashi scowled, "The Inuzuka. They are an uncouth and savage clan. You would do well to limit their time together. It would be a shame if Iroha adopted any of their tendencies."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I will decide who is fit to be around my son. The Inuzuka may lack certain civilities, but their loyalty runs deep, and Kiba is a true friend."

Hiashi pursed his lips, "Shame… I shall take my leave. Kō will be returning after she wakes." He turned and walked out of the room, Kō took a moment to bow again before following, sliding the door shut behind them.

Sasuke sat there for another ten minutes before standing up and leaning over to kiss Hinata's forehead.

"I'll be back."

He found Sakura at the nurses station, looking as exhausted as he felt.

"Is the report finished? I need to get back home."

Sakura let out a heavy sigh and nodded her head, "yeah. I just finished it. Home sounds nice." She looked up to his face as she handed him an envelope. "How are you doing?"

"As should be expected. I feel like shit. Like the world is one giant sewer and I'm stuck floating down it. honestly, I Just want to burn everything to a crisp until there is nothing left."

Sakura grimaced, "that's disgusting, yet somehow very accurate. If you need an accomplice, count me in. After today, I'm ready to see some fuckers burn."

Sasuke's mouth twitched up, "Thanks. I'll take you up on that. I'm going to head out. You should probably do the same. You look terrible."

Sasuke turned to leave, ignoring Sakura's look of indignation but cut her off before she could retort.

"Really, Sakura. Thanks. I owe you."

She gave him a small smile as he walked out of the hospital. "Asshole."

The walk home was shorter than he was hoping. Every step made the envelope in his hands feel heavier. He didn't want to look.

He passed a few clubs, with drunk people spilling out into the street, laughing loudly. Had he not been so exhausted, he would have glared at them. Life always went on.

He wanted to open the envelope and get it all over with.

When Sasuke finally reached his house, he set his resolve. He would read it all, no matter what it said.

He found them on the couch, and smirked at the sight. Kiba had fallen asleep with Iroha draped over his chest. They looked like they had a productive evening. Toys were littered all over the floor. Sasuke grabbed a blanket and draped it over them, causing Kiba's eye to open a sliver. A sleepy smile drifted over his features before his eye drooped closed again.

He took a couple minutes to pick up the mess covering the floor in silence, before continuing back into his room and setting the envelope on his bed. He pulled off his shoes and put them away.

A picture of their wedding caught his eye. It always sat on her bedside table. They looked so happy in that picture.

And then his eyes traveled back to the envelope, he almost felt like it was yelling at him.

He opened it.

Sasuke's eyes found the diagram of a body, notes scribbled all over it. It detailed everything. Every wound they found was marked. There were sheets and sheets of additional notes. He read them all. Then he reread them. Sasuke set the papers down. He could feel his eyes stinging as tears rolled down his cheeks, and he dropped his face into his hands.

"Thank god."

There were no signs of sexual abuse. None at all.

Sasuke's eyes cracked open to bright sunlight filtering through the window onto his face. Sometimes he hated the sun. He looked over at his clock, which informed him that he had only gotten four hours of sleep, and let out an annoyed sigh as he sat up.

His eyes burned from the tears he had shed, and his head was throbbing. He was positive that his face yesterday couldn't even compare to the one he had today, he just hoped Kiba wouldn't say anything about it.

He made his way to the bathroom to wash his face, and then trod quietly to the kitchen to find something cold to hold on his eyes.

Aside from him, the house was quiet, which he was thankful for. It allowed him some time to be alone and calm his irritated mind.

A half an hour later, the rest of the house was awake and Sasuke was stabbing his breakfast with his chopsticks.

Kiba eyed him as he pushed bits of fish back and forth without eating it.

Iroha had rice stuck to his cheek, and somehow managed to get it in his hair as well, but it didn't seem to faze him, instead he focussed on his father.

Sasuke spaced out, unaware of the extra attention on his plate.

"Tou-san. Kaa-san says you have to eat everything on the plate or you can't play." Iroha said matter-of-factly.

Sasuke sighed heavily, picking up a piece of fish and examining it. "yeah, yeah."

He had no appetite, but he put the bite in his mouth anyways and chewed. It was almost nauseating to force himself, but the smile of victory that crossed Iroha's face made it easier.

"Done! Can I go play ninja now?"

Sasuke gave him a small nod, and the child ran to the other room with glee.

Kiba smiled after him. "I wish i could be that happy all the time."

"It's a privilege only children have."

"Eh, whatever. You should probably keep eating. I wasn't going to say anything, but you're haunting. You look like an animal that was flung top speed at fucking train."

Sasuke glared at his plate, "thanks," he said dryly.

Kiba dropped his tone so Iroha couldn't hear him, "Hey, when can I go in to see Hina?"

Sasuke pondered for a few more seconds before responding."Probably in a couple more days. We'll have to see how she is when she wakes up."

Worry etched over the Inuzuka's features.

"Cool. I know Shino will want to see her too, once he gets back. Fuck, this is shit. I feel like this never would have happened if we were with her."

Sasuke shook his head, "This isn't on you. Tsunade never should have deployed her."

Kiba's eyes flicked over to Sasuke's. "Do you know what her mission was?"

"No. Not yet, at least. I'm sure I can convince Tsunade to enlighten me, though."

Kiba nodded, "keep me looped in. I want to help."

Iro made a loud whooshing noise from the other room as he stabbed the air with his toy kunai, drawing the attention of both jounin to him.

"You sure you're fine watching Iro today?"

Kiba smirked, "Yeah, it's really no problem. Akamaru just had his pups, so i've been kinda left on my own anyways. I have a few errands to run today, but I was just going to take the little guy and make it an adventure."

"He'll like that."

"So will I. He's not a little monster like my sister's kids. Honestly, he's the best tempered kid I know." He let out a laugh, "I don't know how that happened."

"Neither do I, it wasn't me."

Kiba laughed again.

"Kiba-oji! We have special mission!" Iroha declared confidently, running up to his uncle. "Wan wan was taken by bad man."

Kiba's face dropped into serious mode. "Oh no. We can't have that, we must do whatever it takes to rescue him." Kiba jumped out of his chair and scooped Iroha up, eliciting delightful laughter as they played.

Sasuke was thankful that Iro was doing well. He was too young to really understand what was happening with his mother. Leave it to Kiba to make the kid's day. The smile on Sasuke's lips faltered. The worst part of being an active shinobi was that his son was accustomed to days or weeks of not seeing one parent or the other. He was already so independent. It made him proud, but also a bit sad.

Sasuke opened the door to find Sakura looking alarmed on the other side.

"Jesus, Sasuke. You look like hell."

Sasuke gave her a dirty look. "Yeah, tell me something I don't know."

Sakura eyed him wearily. "I just came over to make sure you've eaten. I brought a melon."

She held up the fruit as she forced her way into the residence.

Sasuke held in a groan of frustration. The last thing he needed was more people nagging at him. He closed the door and followed her inside.

"Tea?" He asked after she had greeted Kiba and Iroha.

"Sounds good. You need to stay healthy, you know. No matter what you are going through, you cannot neglect your own needs."

Sasuke's mouth twitched down at the corners, "Yep, i know. Iroha already scolded me this morning."

He set down two glasses of tea and took a seat. Sakura's eyes lingered through the small opening that Iroha and Kiba occupied on the other side.

Sasuke eyed the pinkette quietly as she lifted her teacup to her mouth slowly.

"Hey, when are you going to get married, anyways?"

Sakura choked on her tea, and coughed a few times, her eyes wide. She was easy to read.

"What on earth are you talking about??

"Oh stop bullshitting me. I'm not as dense as Naruto. I can see what's in front of my face. It's almost painfully obvious. And you want kids, right?"

Sakura still looked like she was caught stealing. But her eyes flickered down to her bare fingers. "Of course I want children. But why do you care?" She snapped.

Sasuke looked at her thoughtfully, "It's nice. Being able to wake up to the person you love, every day, and knowing that you belong to each other. I used to think that it was stupid and unnecessary. But I know better now."

Sakura sat quietly and let his words sink in before reluctantly admitting he was right "I don't think he wants to be married. Or have children."

"I guess you don't have to get married." Sasuke said thoughtfully.

Sakura ignored that comment, and she hesitated for a moment, before letting out a deep breath.

"Honestly I think he was ashamed for a long time… for putting his hands on me. Sometimes I feel like he's still ashamed because of it. God forbid a student and teacher fall in love. He kept telling me we shouldn't be like we are, but I pressured him. Kept telling him we were equals, and now i feel so guilty for making him so troubled." Sakura's head dropped miserably towards her lap.

Sasuke took a moment to sip his tea. "That's not surprising, he's always been fucking damaged. He's not the type to be pressured into something he doesn't actually want, though, so you shouldn't worry about that… But if you wait too much longer, he'll be too fucking old for kids. Honestly, you should just skip the birth control."

Sakura's face heated up, "excuse me??!"

"Take what you want, Sakura. You deserve that happiness. Who knows, fatherhood changes people."

"That would be a horrible thing to do."

"Yeah, maybe. But you want his children. And he's spent his whole life running away. He would deny you that. Or he would end things and let you go find happiness with someone else while watching miserably from the sidelines. Even Hinata agrees, you have been there for each other for so long."

Sakura was staring at him in shock, "Hinata knows too? No, that's not even… I can't believe you would suggest this… well, no. I can. But I could never do that to him."

Sasuke shrugged, "maybe it isn't about him. You've been pretending to be single for years. You haven't been able to talk about it to anyone, and that has to be lonely. Even I'm sick of pretending I haven't noticed. It's sad. One little pill could change all of that."

"It is lonely, but I couldn't…"

"Think about it. No way would he make you get rid of it. Maybe he'll finally stop running away. If not, you are a strong and capable woman. Being a single mother would suit you fine."

Sakura was speechless. The manipulation he was speaking of was completely immoral. Sure she could be a mother by herself, but that wasn't the point without the man she loved? Sasuke was right, though. If she were to give him a choice, he would always find a way out, and if she wanted his children, he couldn't know he was giving them to her.

Sakura's eyes traveled over to the time shining from the stove and let out a heavy sigh. "This conversation has been.. enlightening, but I really need to head back to the hospital. Hinata should be set to wake up in a few hours, so you should plan to be there."

Sasuke nodded and took another drink of his tea as Sakura stood up and glanced longingly over at the room Iroha and Kiba were roughhousing in.

"I'm going to give Tsunade a visit before then, but I'll be there." Sasuke's eyes followed his old teammate's with sympathy.

"Be easy on her, please. She's having such a hard time already, you don't need to make it more painful for her. The Hokage has a ridiculous amount of things she already has guilt for. And she already feels like this is her responsibility."

"It is her responsibility," Sasuke hissed quietly, his eyes hardening with anger. "And honestly I don't give a damn how hard this is for her, it's harder for Hinata, and it's harder for me. I want to fucking murder everyone. The only thing that is stopping me is that little boy in the other room."

Sakura's face flickered with uncertainty. Maybe even fear. She hadn't heard him talk like that in years, and it terrified her.

"Even so, Sasuke. You're better than that."

"I won't promise anything." Sasuke's hard expression relaxed suddenly, showing how exhausted he felt. "You should head out. I need to go too."

Sakura shot him another uncertain look before grabbing her things and making her way to say goodbye to Iroha and Kiba.

Sasuke stood up and followed her to the door after, and she stopped just in the doorway.

"I will think about what you said… so please think about what I asked. I will see you in a few hours."

With that, Sakura closed the door behind her.

Kiba's head popped out of the doorway his eyes wide with disbelief. "Is Sakura seriously dating Kakashi-senpai??? What the fuck??"

"Yeah, keep it quiet, or i'll tell her it was you with the loose lips. You may not have them anymore when she is finished with you."

Kiba shuddered "fucking medics."

Sasuke glared at the Hokage with unrestrained emotion. Willing all of his murderous intent to crash into her like waves.

She fought back a glare of her own. There was no reasoning with a beast. Sometimes you have to show your tummy and live on with a damaged ego.

This was one of those times. She had to own this mistake. She refused to become a remorseless maniac like so many others with power.

She met his fiery rage with a collected frown.

"You didn't even give me the chance to protect her. It was all dumb luck that I found her. We weren't even supposed to be there. The only reason we ended up in that compound was because some rogue asshole decided to fuck with us. What happened to the trackers you sent after her?"

"They found four bodies. They looked to be Hinata's work. There were no external injuries that would be fatal. I don't know how they managed to get so close to her, but she didn't go down without a fight."

"And her teammates?"

"They still haven't been recovered. I can only speculate that they have been taken by the enemy, and are either dead, or are being kept much like you found Hinata."

"Or they went rogue. They could have been in on it. That might explain why they haven't been found, and why the enemy managed to subdue Hinata with minimal casualties."

"It's too soon to rule anything out, but that wouldn't be unheard of."

"I want blood. The shinobi in that compound were weak. Too weak for Hinata to be overpowered, so we can assume that the major players were gone. Let me see the reports, I want to be in on it. I'm going to wipe them all from history."

"Sasuke, you know I can't do that. It goes against protocol."

"Fuck your protocol. I don't care if I drown this village in a river of blood. While the people responsible for this are still alive, my family will never have peace. I will pursue this with, or without your help, but you owe this to Hinata."

"You understand the repercussions your actions will have, if by chance, this has any connection to another village. So before you go on a killing spree, let our people gather more information. I will allow you to oversee the investigation, but if you lash out and put Konoha into a volatile situation, I will have you imprisoned, and you can forget about your revenge. Do I make myself clear? I will not have you endangering the lives of my citizens because you are unable to control yourself."

"I have my son to think about. I won't do anything stupid, but I won't be able to face her if I do nothing."

"I will hold you to that. The world may be at peace, but you know as well as I, that it only runs surface deep. Since the war ended, our Mission requests have not lessened at all. Just because we won the war doesn't mean the bad guys are gone. The other countries continue to play the game for power. That does not exclude us. As Hokage, I will always put Konoha first. I don't have the luxury to see the world as a kind place. The other shinobi villages act accordingly. Naruto might have united all of us under the same cause and befriended many, but there is still a lot of bad blood poisoning our world, and time has a way of making us forget what we fight for."

Shadows danced across her eyes as her heavy eyelids slid open, she didn't actually feel as if she was in reality. Hinata felt as though she was slowly spinning in the air. Her head was heavy against the pillow she couldn't tell was there, and a dull throbbing pulsed throughout her entire body. A throbbing that told her she should be feeling much more pain than she was.

She couldn't tell if she had actually succeeded in opening her eyes or not, the world was hard to recognize, but there was a weight in her right hand. A familiar warmth that told her everything she needed to know.

Sasuke was there with her.

She was home.

 **Author note** :

Mumu here~

Thanks for the reviews! They have been wonderful to read :)

Please have some patience with me xD I am a slow writer, and I invest a lot of time researching when writing to make sure it is realistic (to the best of my knowledge) and makes sense.

Also… Sasuke is so dang hard to write!! I get being an emo sulky mess, but then he has moments of stoicism, and then suddenly he's a raging inferno. How does his brain function…? I don't know. I constantly feel like I make him talk too much. ;_;

Induced comas generally take a few days to wake up from since the drugs stay in the body for a while, but I have taken some liberties to hasten that timeframe. Though, seeing as she is unconscious for a pretty short duration of time, the amount of drugs in her system would be less, so it could take as little as twelve hours to fully wake up. I figure with the best two medics working on her, Hinata could recover a bit faster than normal.

On a side note, it's always good to take a few extra minutes a day to make the people important to us feel loved and appreciated. One of my family members just lost his best friend to cancer. His support was really inspiring to me. I was asked to do an art piece for him last month, and he received it before he passed. I felt so humbled to be able to give something so meaningful to someone else. Though it took a few days of my time, it was a small thing I could do to warm many hurting hearts.

I guess what i'm trying to say is: it's so easy to complain and voice things that we are unhappy about, but positivity can impact our lives in so many ways. Just remember to see the good things in life, and let the people you love know that they are appreciated.

Thanks for reading :)

Feel free to review~


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